Vertically pivoted presser foot for zigzag sewing



W. A. AYRES Oct. 8, 1957 VERTICALLY PIVOTED PRESSER FOOT FOR ZIGZAGSEWING Filed Nov. 21, 1955 wawsuAaA-lAyee-s rraR YQG pad VERTICALLYPIVOTED PRESSER FOOT FOR ZIGZAG SEWTYG Application November 21, 1955,Serial No. 547,997

8 Claims. (Cl. 112-235) This invention relates to a vertically pivotedpresser foot for zigzag sewing.

In order to produce zigzag stitches, sewing machines or attachments forsewing machines, have been provided with bars that are oscillatable in ahorizontal plane relative to the path of movement of the reciprocatingneedles of the sewing machines.

These oscillating bars at their outer or free ends have been providedwith presser feet having elongated transverse slots therein and throughwhich slots the needles pass. These presser feet, heretofore, have beenpivotally connected to the bars so as to have rocking movement relativethereto about horizontal axes. Consequently the presser feet move withthe oscillatable bars as a unit and without any relative motion in thehorizontal direction.

As will be understood in the art, the presser feet engage the materialbeing sewed and since the presser feet have no relative movement withrespect to the oscillatable bars in the horizontal direction theoscillation of the bars and the presser feet tends to twist the cloth ormaterial being sewed and results in the same slipping and thus producingpoor quality of work. Also the twisting of the cloth makes it difficultto properly guide the cloth so as to have the stitches therein properlylocated. In addition, the twisting of the cloth frequently causes lossof desired width in the zigzag stitches.

An object of the present invention is to provide a presser footconstruction which is connected to the oscillatable bar of a sewingmachine or of a sewing machine attachment for producing zigzag stitchesand which presser foot and its connection to the oscillating barfacilitates and renders more accurate the guiding of the cloth withminimum twisting of the latter so that the zigzag stitches taken thereinwill be at the desired location.

A further object of the invention is to provide a presser foot and anoperative connection between it and the oscillating bar of a sewingmachine or a sewing machine attachment for zigzag sewing such that thequality of the work performed by the machine or attachment is improved,is more uniform and is more pleasing in appearance.

A still further object is to provide a presser foot such as referred toin the above named objects and which eliminates lost motion due to thecloth slipping relative to the presser foot and thereby enables thedesired width of zigzag stitches to be made in the cloth.

A general object is to eliminate the disadvantages of the priorarrangements as recited above.

The invention contemplates attaining the above named objects and theadvantages and objects later becoming more apparent during the detaileddescription which is to follow by employing a presser foot that ispivotally connected to the oscillating bar about a vertical axis so thatduring the oscillations of the bar the presser foot while moving withthe bar also will have relative swinging movement thereto in ahorizontal direction.

Embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawingforming part of this specification and wherein 2,89,794 'Patented Oct.8,' 1957 Fig. 1 is a plan view of a portion of the oscillatable bar of asewing machine or of a sewing machine attachment for producing zigzagstitching and to the free end of which bar there is pivotally connectedabout a vertical axis a presser foot embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the construction shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing a modified form ofconstruction embodying the invention;

Fig. 4-is a side elevational view of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic illustration of an oscillatable bar carrying apresser foot that cannot move or swing relative to the bar in ahorizontal direction, and illustrates the arrangement employed prior tothe present invention, the bar and presser foot being shown in centralposition bearing upon the cloth or material to be sewed while theoperators finger is shown in position to guide the cloth.

Figs. 6 and 7 illustrate the relationship of the presser foot andbar andof the material when the bar and presser foot have oscillated toward theleft or toward the right as viewed in the drawing from the centralposition as shown in Fig. 5, and

Figs. 8, 9 and 10 are diagrammatic views similar to Figs. 5, 6 and 7 butillustrating an oscillating bar and presser foot embodying the presentinvention andthe action of the same in swinging from central position tooscillated position in either direction.

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, 11 indicates an oscillatable bar usedin a sewing machine or a sewing machine attachment for producing zigzagstitching in the material being sewed. The needle of the sewing machineis indicated at 12 and it will be understood thatsaid needle verticallyreciprocates in a fixed path during the sewing operation while the bar11 swings or oscillates from the central position shown in Fig. 1 andabout a fulcrum, not shown, and which preferably is adjustablelongitudinally of the bar so as to vary the stitch width as desired.

The oscillatable bar 11 may be incorporated in various forms ofmechanism for producing zigzag sewing but as an illustration of onespecific form the bar may be considered as the oscillatable bar in thezigzag stitching attachment for sewing machines shown, described andclaimed in my copending application Serial No. 550,577, filed December2, 1955. Y

The oscillatable bar 11 at its free end and on its longitudinal centerline is provided with a downward depres-' sion 13, the under surface ofwhich constitutes a rocking surface for the presser foot 14. The presserfoot 14 mounts a vertically extending pivot or fulcrum pin 15 thatpasses freely through an opening in the depression 13 and is provided onits upper end with a head so that said pin 15 operatively interconnectsthe presser foot 14 and the oscillatable bar 11. This operativeconnection is such that the presser foot has limited rocking movementvertically about the underside of the depression 13 and also can swinghorizontally about the axis of the pin 15 and relative to the bar 11. Inother words, the presser foot is universally connected to theoscillatable bar, it being understood that the rocking movement of thepresser foot vertically relative to the bar is more limited than is itspivoted movement horizontally relative to the bar. The depression 13 inthe free end of the oscillatable bar 11 is located in a downwardlyoffset end portion 16 of the bar and said portion rearwardly of thedepression 13 and on the longitudinal center line of the bar 11 isprovided with an opening 17. The presser foot 14 has fixed thereinrearwardly of the fulcrum pin 15'a stop pin 18 that extends upwardlythrough the opening 17 and is of substantially less diameter than saidopening so that the pin can have movement in the opening as the presserfoot 14 swings about the vertical axis relative to the bar 11, but willengage the circumference of the 2 ing or slot 19. The needle 12 will belocated midway be- I tween the ends of the slot 19 and together with thefulcrum pin 15 and stop pin 18 on the longitudinal center line of thebar 11 when the presser foot 14 and the bar 11 are in their centralposition. The presser foot 14 is further provided with a longitudinalslot 20 that is perpendicular to the slot 19 and has its inner endcommunicating therewith midway between the opposite ends of the slot 19while the outer end of the slot 20 is at the free end of the presserfoot. Theslot 20 forms transversely spaced feet at the outer end of thepresser foot and these feet may have their free ends upturned asindicated at 21 to facilitate the passage of cloth or material beneaththe presser foot. The underside of the presser foot may be provided withlongitudinally extending cloth engaging teeth or serrations indicated at22.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 4 showing a modified construction embodying theinvention, the oscillatable bar 23 has at its free end a widened portion24 that is offset downwardly from the remainder of the bar 23 but isparallel thereto. The portion 24 of the bar is provided on its free endwith a centrally located inwardly extending rectangular recess thatforms transversely spaced parallel arms 25 located at the oppositelongitudinal sides of the portion 24 and overlying the presser footlater to be referred to.

At the base of the recess in the portion 24 and centrally thereof saidportion is provided with a depression 26 similar to the depression 13 ofthe previously described form. The portion 24 on its oppositelongitudinal edges and in transverse alignment with the depression 26 isprovided with upstanding lugs 27. The presser foot proper is indicatedat 28 and is substantially of the same construction as the presser foot14 of the previously described form. The presser foot 28 is providedwith a transverse slot 29 in which the needle 12 reciprocates. Also thepresser foot 28 has a longitudinal slot 30 that is perpendicular to theslot 29 and communicates therewith and extends centrally of the presserfoot to the outer upturned edge of the latter dividing the outer end ofthe presser foot into spaced feet as in the previously described form. t

The presser foot 28 has fixed therein an upstanding fulcrum or pivot pin31 which passes through an opening in the depression 26 and is providedwith a shoulder above the upper surface of the depression to retain thepin 31 in position and to maintain the presser foot 28 pivotallyconnected to the portion 24 about a vertical axis. The upper end of thepin 31 is provided with an opening through which extends a spring wire32, the opposite ends of which are anchored in the lugs 27. The springwire 32 functions to normally maintain the presser foot 28 centralizedwith respect to the portion 24 as indicated in Fig. 3 and in whichposition the pin 31 is in alignment with the needle 12 on thelongitudinal center line of the bar 23. V

The presser foot 28'inwardly of the fulcrum or pivot pin 31 and on thelongitudinal center line of the bar has fixed therein an upwardlyextending stop pin 33 which passes through an elongated slot 34 formedin the portion 24 of the bar. It will be understood that when the bar 23oscillates and the presser foot 28 is in engagement with the materialbeing sewed under the spring pressure exerted on the presser foot rodthat the oscillating movements of the bar 23 in the horizontal directionwill move the presser foot 28 laterally in opposite directions but thatsaid presser foot can have relative swinging movement in the horizontalplane.

It will further be understood that the ends of the, slot 34;.functiontov engage the pin, 33, tov limit. the, maximum swinging movement of thepresser foot relative to the portion 24 in the horizontal direction. Itwill also be understood that the spring 32 constantly tends to restorethe presser foot 28 to its central position wherein the stop pin 33, thefulcrum pin 31 and the needle 12 are all located on the longitudinalcenter line of the bar 23 with the pin 33 midway between the ends of theslot 34 and the needle 12 midway between the ends of the slot 29.

As in the previously described form, the presser foot 28 will havelimited vertical rocking movement about a horizontal axis and relativeto the portion 24 and on the depression 25. Consequently, as in thepreviously described form, the presser foot can be said to have auniversal connection to the portion 24 of the bar 23, inasmuch as it hasthe limited rocking movement relative to the bar about the horizontalaxes and a swinging movement relative to the bar about the vertical axisof the fulcrum or pivot pin 31.

Referring to Fig. 5, B represents an oscillatable bar of a sewingmachine or a sewing machine attachment and which bar is oscillated inthe horizontal plane by mechanism not shown but understood in the art.The bar B may have an adjustable fulcrum about which is oscillates asindicated at F and as will be well understood in the art. The bar B maybe provided with a presser foot P that is either integral with the baror is pivoted totbe bar to move about a horizontal axis relative to thebar. In other words, Fig. 5 represents the previously used constructionsand shows the bar in central position wherein the needle N is locatedcentrally of the transverse slot S in the presser foot.

The material being sewed is indicated at M while the thumb of finger ofthe operator is indicated at T in the position it takes in guiding thematerial beneath the presser foot so that the stitches will be locatedin predetermined position in the material. It will be noted that theguiding thumb or finger T of the operator is in alignment with theneedle N and the fulcrum F of the bar B.

During the oscillation of the bar B it swings first in a clockwisedirection as indicated in Fig. 6 and then in a counterclockwisedirection as indicated in Fig. 7 and it will be observed that thepresser foot P moves as a unit with the bar B and in an arc, this asindicated by the arrows in Figs. 6 and 7. The movement referred todisplaces substantially the relationship of the operators thumb to thecenter line of the presser foot. This is because the presser foot has noswinging movement about a vertical axis relative to the bar. Suchmovement of the presser foot with the bar substantially twists the clothor material M and this results in producing a slippage of the cloth anda poor qualityof stitching therein. Also the twisting of the cloth andthe displacement of the presser foot makes it difiicult to properlyguide the cloth so as to have the zigzag stitches correctly located.

'Figs. 8, 9 and 10 are similar to Figs. 5, 6 and 7 but schematicallyshow the functioning of an arrangement embodying the present inventionand wherein the presser foot P is pivotally connected to theoscillatable bar B about a vertical axis indicated at V so as to haveswinging movement relative to the bar in a horizontal plane.

In Figs. 9 and 10 the arrows indicate that as the bar oscillates thepresser foot P has lateral movement but maintains substantially itsrelationship to the thumb of the operator.

It has been found in actual tests that the vertically pivoted presserfoot P while oscillating with the bar B has the relative swingingmovement thereto in the horizontal plane that reduces to a minimumdisplacement of they presser foot relative to the operators thumb andthat the twisting of the material or cloth M is reduced, thusfacilitating the guiding of the cloth and enabling the zigzag stitchesto be properlylocated in the cloth and of the correct stitch width, thusimproving the quality of the work.

Although preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustratedand described it will be understood that the invention is susceptible ofvarious forms and modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a sewing mechanism, a horizontal bar oscillatable in a horizontalplane and adapted to be moved by spring pressure toward the materialbeing sewed, a presser foot adapted to engage said material and providedwith a transverse slot for a vertically reciprocating needle, and meanspivotally connecting said presser foot to the free end of said bar abouta vertical axis, whereby said bar and presser foot can have relativeswinging movement in a horizontal direction and about said verticalaxis.

2. In a sewing mechanism as defined in claim 1 and wherein said bar onits under side adjacent its free end is provided with a depressionthrough which said vertical axis of said means extends and about whichdepression said presser foot has limited rocking movement in a verticaldirection relative to said bar whereby said presser foot in elfect has auniversal connection with said bar.

3. In a sewing mechanism as defined in claim 2 and wherein said bar isprovided with an opening and said presser foot with an upwardlyextending stop pin passing through said opening and having limitedhorizontal movement therein when said presser foot swings horizontallyrelative to said bar.

4. In a sewing mechanism as defined in claim 2 and wherein said verticalaxis of said means is located on the longitudinal center line of saidbar.

5. In a sewing mechanism as defined in claim 2 and wherein said verticalaxis of said means is located on the longitudinal center line of saidbar, while said bar is provided with an opening the center of which islocated on said longitudinal center line of said bar in spacedrelationship to said vertical axis, and said presser foot is providedwith an upwardly extending stop pin passing through said opening andhaving limited horizontal movement therein.

6. In a sewing mechanism as defined in claim 2 and wherein spring meanscooperates with said vertical axis means to maintain said bar and saidpresser foot normally in longitudinally centralized alignedrelationship.

7. In a sewing mechanism as defined in claim 2 and wherein said meanspivotally connecting said bar and presser foot about a vertical axisincludes a pivot pin carried by said presser foot and extending throughan opening in said depression of said bar.

8. In a sewing mechanism as defined in claim 7 and wherein said pivotpin at its upper end is provided with an opening therethrough whilemeans is provided on said bar mounting a spring wire that extendsthrough said opening in said pivot pin.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,704,169 Carmichael et a1. Mar. 5, 1929 1,901,752 Karle Mar. 14, 19332,314,861 Antonelli Mar. 30, 1943 2,646,015 Johnson July 21, 1953

